Just to add a few comments about my lurkerdom... I've lurked in HP fandom since 2000 (yikes). For a long time, I stayed out of it because I didn't have time, and also my primary LJ is easily googleable under my real name. Eventually, I started this other LJ that isn't connected to my real name, but for some reason it hasn't actually caused me to participate more.
I think there a few reasons for that. Time (I mean, it takes so much time even just to lurk!) is still the main one. It especially seems like if you want anyone to read things you've written, you really need to cultivate people, and the idea of investing time just to become popular among online HP fans strikes me as batty. But another reason is that HP fandom is now so vast that I don't know how I could keep up. I'm the sort of person who would think up an idea for a fic or essay and sit on it for six months before doing anything about it. In that amount of time, someone could easily post something so similar that it just doesn't make the effort seem worthwhile. Or, someone will post an essay and the comments will move so fast that you can't keep up and make any kind of meaningful contribution. The fandom seems to reward people who are online 24 hours a day. If the choice is lurkerdom or extreme overinvestment, I'm erring on the side of lurkerdom!
The only thing that ever tempts me to consider stopping lurking is that although the fandom is now much huger than it was back when I occasionally posted on HP4GU, it is also broken up into smaller chunks, mostly by ship. I suppose that could make it a bit less daunting.
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I think there a few reasons for that. Time (I mean, it takes so much time even just to lurk!) is still the main one. It especially seems like if you want anyone to read things you've written, you really need to cultivate people, and the idea of investing time just to become popular among online HP fans strikes me as batty. But another reason is that HP fandom is now so vast that I don't know how I could keep up. I'm the sort of person who would think up an idea for a fic or essay and sit on it for six months before doing anything about it. In that amount of time, someone could easily post something so similar that it just doesn't make the effort seem worthwhile. Or, someone will post an essay and the comments will move so fast that you can't keep up and make any kind of meaningful contribution. The fandom seems to reward people who are online 24 hours a day. If the choice is lurkerdom or extreme overinvestment, I'm erring on the side of lurkerdom!
The only thing that ever tempts me to consider stopping lurking is that although the fandom is now much huger than it was back when I occasionally posted on HP4GU, it is also broken up into smaller chunks, mostly by ship. I suppose that could make it a bit less daunting.